New Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Weapon Details Emerge

Taylor Kurosaki talked to Opshead about the new weapon types and features we can expect to see in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare this fall.

E3 2016 finally gave us a look at some of the weapons that will be featured in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, including an LMG/sniper hybrid and an energy based SMG. Opshead had an opportunity to discuss these new weapons with the Narrative Director of Infinity Ward, Taylor Kurosaki.

Weapon Types

“We have both ballistic weapons and energy weapons. Because we are fighting mechanized soldiers and human foes, different weapons are better for different situations. Generally speaking, energy weapons are a preferred method to fight against mechanized soldiers and ballistic weapons do a great job against humans,” Kurosaki told Opshead. “One thing that’s really important for us, even our energy weapons will have a very tactile feel. They are real world based. You may not have a magazine with rounds in it when you are reloading, but you’ll have a new battery pack. You’ll shove in that battery pack in the same way [you would reload a magazine]. It gives you that feel, that real feel.”

We had a look at an energy based SMG during the campaign mission in Geneva, and it’s easy to understand what Taylor Kurosaki means by real world based. Aside from a glowing blue muzzle flash, the SMG looked and felt like the PDW from BO2. Though they feel like their ballistic counterparts, increasing or decreasing damage against certain enemy types will give Call of Duty a strategic depth that is unheard of compared to past campaigns.

Side Mounted Scopes

A side mounted scope was spotted on an assault rifle in the campaign mission showed off on the Sony stage at E3 20016.

While he did not go into detail, Kurosaki did confirm that this is a mechanic we can expect to see in Infinite Warfare. The assault rifle has an optical zoom mounted on top, but also an iron sight mounted on the side, creating a versatile weapon that gives players the opportunity to engage at various ranges.

The Machine Gun Sniper Rifle

Another new mechanic coming to Call of Duty will be hybrid weapons, including a hybrid machine gun sniper.

“The weapon is a combination of a machine gun and sniper rifle, the scope rotates down to the side and changes the firing mode of the weapon,” explained Kurosaki. We had a chance to see this hybrid in action at E3 and were very impressed. During the demo, the player picked up what we thought was a sniper rifle and proceeded to pick off distant targets and enemies in helicopters. Then, the sniper scope was rotated to reveal a smart iron sight and the player used it like an LMG. The fire mode changed from a semi-automatic sniper to a fully automatic LMG, once again increasing the versatility and gameplay options available to the player.

Future Shotgun

The best part of the behind closed doors E3 demo was a shotgun with a futuristic sight that can increase range.

“The great thing about shotguns is if you’re up close and can get an enemy with most of the shots, they’re incredibly powerful, but at a distance they become less and less so. With the smart sight, it tracks the shot and groups it together to be more effective at a distance.”

This shotgun behaves as normal while hip firing, it will still be your last resort when an enemy gets in too close, but the smart scope will change its characteristics while aiming down sights. If you put an enemy in your iron sights, you will notice dots start to outline and fill in the enemy, provided you can keep them in the sight. These dots are actually showing you where it will track the buckshot and after a brief delay, maybe a second or two, the enemy will be completely outlined, allowing you to land the full force of the shotgun blast at range. Kurosaki joked, “It calibrates and goes, I see, you’re trying to get that guy, let me help you out here.” The slight delay keeps the gun from feeling overpowered, but the smart sight should make shotguns more viable than ever.

Tacticals and Grenades

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will feature EMP grenades as usual, which are very effective in shutting down enemy robots. There is a new type of grenade we saw though and it has potential to shake up how you approach a firefight in Call of Duty.

“There are anti-grav grenades. When you are on ships, that is all artificial gravity, so what a great weapon to be able to disable that. [Enemies trapped in anti-grav grenades] become like shooting fish in a barrel.”

We can’t wait to get to see how much trouble we can cause on SetDef ships while using these new grenades.

Seeker Bots

A drone was shown off during the E3 demo, but we were unsure what it was doing. Fortunately, Taylor was ready to answer our questions, “It’s basically a grenade with four legs on it to track and find the nearest enemy. The Settlement Defense Front has those as well, so you’ll have to look out for them.”

About The Author: Vincent Genova

Vincent is a washed up former college volleyball player who used to be good at stuff. He spends his days figuring out how to wield his editorial power to create more video games about sharks and/or dinosaurs. Until then, Vincent will happily cover Call of Duty.

You can keep track of the Twitter that he may not know he has: @VinbatPlays